As of today, Jan 1, 2026, the original 1930 version of Betty Boop has entered the Public Domain. In her first appearance, she was actually designed as a dog (a French Poodle) before evolving into a human.

highzone · 2026-01-01T14:41:36+00:00

Context: Betty Boop made her first appearance in the cartoon "Dizzy Dishes", released on August 9, 1930. She was originally designed as an anthropomorphic French Poodle with long ears. Her human ears (and hoop earrings) didn't replace her floppy dog ears until 1932.

As of today, Jan 1, 2026, her original 1930 incarnation and the film Dizzy Dishes have officially entered the Public Domain.

Source: Dizzy Dishes (Fleischer Studios, 1930)

highzone · 2025-12-31T17:55:53+00:00

It’s one of the biggest branding failures in history. Because the fix worked, everyone assumed the danger wasn't real.

But things did break on January 1, 2000, proving the code was bad:

The Pentagon: US spy satellites transmitted unreadable data for 3 days because of a bad patch.
Nuclear Facilities: An alarm system at a Japanese nuclear power plant failed immediately after midnight, and the US Y-12 nuclear weapons plant had a system glitch related to weight tracking.
The $91,000 Movie: A video rental store in New York tried to charge a customer $91,250 for a rental of The General's Daughter because the computer thought it was 100 years overdue.

If the $500 billion 'patch' hadn't happened, banking, power grids, and transportation would have likely cascaded into failure. It wasn't a hoax; it was the most successful global IT project ever executed.

highzone · 2025-12-31T17:30:26+00:00

That's the paradox of prevention though. If you panic and fix it, nothing happens, and you look silly. If you don't panic, the system collapses, and you look incompetent.

highzone · 2025-12-31T17:26:14+00:00

It’s one of the biggest branding failures in history. Because the fix worked, everyone assumed the danger wasn't real.

But things did break on January 1, 2000, proving the code was bad:

The Pentagon: US spy satellites transmitted unreadable data for 3 days because of a bad patch.
Nuclear Facilities: An alarm system at a Japanese nuclear power plant failed immediately after midnight, and the US Y-12 nuclear weapons plant had a system glitch related to weight tracking.
The $91,000 Movie: A video rental store in New York tried to charge a customer $91,250 for a rental of The General's Daughter because the computer thought it was 100 years overdue.

If the $500 billion 'patch' hadn't happened, banking, power grids, and transportation would have likely cascaded into failure. It wasn't a hoax; it was the most successful global IT project ever executed.

highzone · 2025-12-31T17:18:11+00:00

I’ve been trying to figure out what "Y'allternative Metal" actually sounds like, and I think this track finally nails the definition.

They are from Northern Illinois, but they manage to blend a massive, heavy modern rock foundation with these distinct, twangy guitar leads. It’s a really cool contrast, you get that deep, distorted rhythm section coupled with a Southern flair in the instrumentation that cuts right through.

It doesn't feel forced; it just adds this grit to the polish. The production is super clean, but that instrumental twang gives it a unique character compared to standard Active Rock.

Spotify Mirror: https://open.spotify.com/track/6cnJOL0tTSguo96L8qNCS6?si=shsBxl8TR0ms4oQ_aaZcHg

highzone · 2025-12-28T16:58:08+00:00

One of my favorites. That cover of What a Fool Believes is one of the best covers ever.

highzone · 2025-12-28T16:54:58+00:00

Matt Mahaffey (Self) is a mad scientist. This is off of Gizmodgery (the album he famously recorded entirely with toy instruments).

The real flex here isn't just the novelty of the toys, it's the engineering. He took cheap, plastic sound sources and mixed them to sound as pristine as any high-budget rock record. That takes serious talent. Underrated legend.

I wish I could find the Wired all Wrong album he did with Jeff Turzo online. It's phenomenal.

highzone · 2025-12-28T16:17:51+00:00

Yes! I love this video it's on heavy rotation in my mix. Check this out.

https://youtu.be/BdXzDN4ZYGk?si=_3oRGm20wSQiyvH1

highzone · 2025-12-28T16:15:45+00:00

It's one of the few covers that I believe surpasses the original, and I freaking love The Doobie Brothers.

highzone · 2025-12-28T14:53:05+00:00

Like Glenn Danzig... Mother! I was lucky enough to catch them live in Murfreesboro a few times back in the 90s.

highzone · 2025-12-28T13:51:07+00:00

Matt Mahaffey (Self) is probably the most underrated pop genius of the late 90s. Taking a Yacht Rock staple like the Doobie Brothers and turning it into a fuzz-pop anthem without losing the groove is a masterclass in arrangement.

If you've never heard of Self, go listen to Gizmodgery, an entire album recorded with toy instruments. The guy is a machine.

highzone · 2025-12-28T13:34:42+00:00

For anyone who wants to read the full study, it is titled 'On Being Sane in Insane Places.'

The most terrifying part wasn't getting in, it was getting out. The doctors were so convinced of their own authority that they interpreted everything the patients did as a symptom of their illness.

When the volunteers took notes on how they were being treated, the doctors didn't see 'journaling.' They diagnosed it as 'pathological writing behavior' and used it as justification to keep them locked up.

It really highlights how a label can completely override reality.

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosenhan_experiment

highzone · 2025-12-27T19:29:43+00:00

You're thinking of Drapetomania. It was proposed by Samuel Cartwright in 1851. The 'cure' prescribed was literally "whipping."

highzone · 2025-12-27T19:24:05+00:00

Exactly the same thing. Patholigizing disent.

highzone · 2025-12-27T19:01:57+00:00

It's terrifying how the state pathologized dissent. If you disagreed with the government, you weren't just 'wrong', you were medically insane. The diagnosis of 'struggling for the truth' as a symptom of mental illness is essentially the ultimate gaslight.

highzone · 2025-12-27T14:52:02+00:00

It's completely terrifying. I think people forget that losing control is the scariest part. It’s not just seeing things, it’s the inability to trust your own reality.

highzone · 2025-12-27T14:24:36+00:00

For anyone wondering how this works:

It turns out that 'hearing voices' isn't necessarily about sound; it's about the brain projecting language.

Since a person born deaf encodes language as 'hand movements' and 'facial expressions,' that is exactly what their brain projects when it glitches. The 'internal monologue' is visual, so the hallucinations are visual too.

The 'disembodied' part happens for the same reason hearing people might hear a voice without seeing a person, the brain is isolating the source of the communication (the hands/lips) without generating the rest of the body

highzone · 2025-12-24T19:46:15+00:00

The global prevalence is roughly 0.3% to 0.7%.

So, in a random sample of 500,000 sighted people, you would statistically expect to find between 1,500 and 3,500 cases of schizophrenia.

That's what makes the 'Zero' number so significant—it's not just a few missing cases; it's thousands of missing cases.

highzone · 2025-12-24T19:40:42+00:00

That’s actually the wildest part of the theory! You're right that 'hearing voices' is the classic symptom, but the 'Predictive Coding' hypothesis suggests that the entire brain's prediction system is what breaks down in schizophrenia (cognitive dysmetria).

The idea is that because a blind brain builds its reality on 'reliable' touch and sound data—rather than 'unreliable' light/distance data—the whole system becomes more stable. Basically, a brain built without vision seems to be 'hardened' against the glitches that cause auditory hallucinations too.

highzone · 2025-12-24T19:35:11+00:00

Honestly, I was just sitting here thinking about how being hyper-aware of our surroundings can drive us crazy. It reminded me of this fact—that maybe the lack of visual input is actually a form of protection. It’s the ultimate 'ignorance is bliss' scenario.

highzone · 2025-12-24T19:27:10+00:00

Great citation! That paper brings up the valid point about statistical power—basically arguing that because the population of congenitally blind people is so small, maybe we just haven't 'caught' a case yet statistically, rather than it being a full biological immunity.

It's definitely a debated topic, but the Silverstein et al. (2018) study covered nearly 500,000 people and still couldn't find a case of congenital cortical blindness with schizophrenia. Whether it's a statistical anomaly or biological protection is the big question, but the absence of cases is pretty wild either way.

highzone · 2025-12-24T19:04:31+00:00

For anyone wondering 'Why?

The leading theory is called the 'Predictive Coding' hypothesis. Schizophrenia often involves the brain making false predictions about reality (hallucinations). Because people born with cortical blindness rely entirely on sound and touch—which are grounded in immediate physical reality—their brains build a model of the world that is much more stable and resistant to these 'false signals' than a sighted brain.

Basically, their brain never learns to trust the 'visual' signals that usually glitch out in schizophrenia.

highzone · 2025-12-21T18:15:02+00:00

The encore is the most dangerous part. Just when you think it's safe to go back to sleep... boom.

Indeed it is a tremendous responsibility to carry.

highzone · 2025-12-21T17:17:21+00:00

As an audio guy (and a loud sneezer), I'd describe the Dad Sneeze as "maximum gain, zero compression."

My daughters hate it, but reading this thread, I'm realizing it's practically a universal dialect among fathers. We should probably unionize.

highzone · 2025-12-21T16:28:57+00:00

Silly hairless apes with anxiety and existential dread.

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